Claremont employee admits to stealing $600,000

A Claremont woman accused of stealing more than $600,000 from her employer has pleaded guilty in federal court.

The Valley News reported that 45-year-old Bonnie Johnson pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud and faces 33 months in prison when she is sentenced in January.

Johnson was a longtime administrative assistant at North Country Smokehouse in Claremont. She was accused of stealing the money starting in 2005 by using the company’s credit cards and bank accounts and endorsing checks with her boss’s personal signature stamp. Prosecutors said she spent the money on cars, jewelry and vacations.

In court Thursday, Johnson’s lawyer said she immediately confessed and has cooperated with the investigation.